Sermersooq, Municipal territory in eastern Greenland.
Sermersooq is a municipality in south-central and eastern Greenland, covering 531,900 km², making it the largest municipality in the world by area. Its administrative seat is Nuuk, the capital. The territory includes the Ammassalik, Ittoqqortoormiit, Ivittuut, Nuuk and Paamiut areas, with settlements such as Tasiilaq, Kulusuk and Paamiut. The landscape features fjords, mountains and the Greenland ice sheet.
Sermersooq was formed on 1 January 2009 by merging five municipalities: Ammassalik, Ittoqqortoormiit, Ivittuut, Nuuk and Paamiut. Each had been named after its largest settlement. The new unit covered 531,900 km², making it the world's largest municipality by area after the 2018 split of Qaasuitsup. Charlotte Ludvigsen stepped down as mayor on 15 June 2022, replaced by Avaaraq S. Olsen.
Sermersooq means "the place of much ice" in Greenlandic, a name shared with the ice sheet itself. West coast towns and settlements speak Kalaallisut, while the east coast uses Tunumiit oraasiat, a dialect distinct enough that East Greenlanders often switch to Danish or West Greenlandic to be understood. Danish is also used in the larger towns.
The municipality is only reachable by plane or boat since no roads connect the settlements. Visitors should prepare for limited services and plan shopping and supplies in the larger towns.
Sermersooq's settlements on both coasts are linked by year-round Air Greenland flights between Nuuk Airport and Kulusuk and Nerlerit Inaat airports, the only Greenlandic municipality where this is possible. The eastern tip around Ittoqqortoormiit also keeps a different clock time, UTC-1, from the rest of the municipality at UTC-3.
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